There is substantial evidence that funding for colleges and universities is an investment in the country’s future, both in terms of the ability to create jobs and help deliver social and economic equity. Currently spending on tertiary education by the UK is around 1.3% of gross domestic product. This compares to the average in OECD countries of 1.6%, with the UK well below leading economies such as the USA and Korea (2.6%), Canada (2.5%), Sweden (1.8%) and Japan (1.6%). We want the UK governments to take a lead in raising funding for tertiary education to the OECD average of 1.6% of GDP.

What our supporters say

“UK FE and HE was a world leader in high quality education on the large scale through its long and innovative track record in online courses. We are losing ground to other countries now, as institutions struggle to keep the day job going while managing the cuts, and have nothing left to invest in educational innovation. The knowledge economy needs this innovation. If we don’t invest in high quality teaching on the large scale we will lose the competitive advantage we once had.”